At a recent media gathering at regency hotel in NEW YORK City, Liv revealed her utter distaste for interviews. Donna Walker Mitchell tells B, that when Liv walked into the room, she cheekily cooed to those assembled: "I hate you all!"

Pardon ?
You're my last interview before lunch, so that's good. I hate it so much. There's nothing worse in the whole world.

Than doing interviews ?
Making the movie [Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers] is wonderful and having people like it is great and they want to know things about it. I understand that and you [the media] make it more possible for more people to see the movie, so that's good.

Why do you hate doing interviews so much ?
The weird thing is, you don't actually tell people about yourself. I mean, I'm not really going to tell you about me; I'm just not. And that's weird, because people come in with ideas of what they think you're like and they'll try and ask you a question so they can write what they wanted to ask you about, not what you're saying.

I'm sorry, what are you trying to say ?
People write things all the time and even if you sit down with them one-on-one and there's a fact checker and everything, things still get confused because it's someone else writing about you.

Do you read the press ?
A lot of it's not remotely true, so it's kind of funny. Well, it's funny if it's about someone else and it's not funny when it's about you. I definitely like to read interviews with people that I like.

People like who ?
See! This is what I mean. You're going to write [something down], because I'm gonna say the first person that comes off the top my head and you're gonna write that I like to read interviews about that particular person.

Ok, you said people already have a certain idea of you. What do you think that is ?
I have no idea. What do you think my image is ?

You have lots of facets. You're wild, for one ...
Wild ? Really ? Thank you. I never thought I was wild. That's fabulous! Iíve never heard people describe me as wild.

If you're not wild, then how would you describe yourself ?
I don't know. For one thing, I'm really sentimental about time. I'm a cancer and I get very nostalgic about everything. I want every moment to last forever. Every moment that's beautiful, I'm obsessed with. I don't hate change, but I just really appreciate everything. I've been like that since I was a little girl.

Why do you think that is ?
I think itís because my upbringing was quite difficult for me emotionally, so now, I appreciate everything. Even at a really young age I had an appreciation for when things were wonderful.

That's good; not many people these days are appreciative.
Yes but I've always been like that. I'd take photographs of everything, record messages. I have to remind myself sometimes just to let things happen and not try and record them.

What has it been like then having to watch yourself grow up on screen ?
I started making movies when I was 16 so it's bizarre. I'm 25 now and to watch myself on screen is still weird, even though I'm not very old. I still don't have any wrinkles [laughs]. But I look back at my older movies and think, "wow, I'm never gonna look like that again." I have to be constantly reminded of that. At the same time, it's not like I'm overly vain about it. I think it's more the idea of age than the physical parts of it.

Is that partly the reason why you wanted to be an actress - because you wanted to record things ?
No. I became an actress because I had to adapt to a lot of different situations when I was a kid.

Such as ?
I grew up with different family members. I didn't just have one specific [family unit] so I learnt at a very young age how to absorb my surroundings and learn how to fit into them.

How old were you when you first fell in love ?
I don't think I really felt love at 16. I mean, I had boyfriends but I don't think it was real love.

You're obviously in love now.
Yes

Some people say they're addicted to love
Do they ?

What's your addiction ?
I don't have one anymore because I stopped smoking. I always told myself I'd stop smoking when I turned 25, because I've been smoking since I was 14 so I did. I just stopped the day after my birthday. It's hard. I think about it all the time. The weirdest thing is that you think they're calming you, but they're actually having the opposite effect

What's different about you now ?
I'm much more of a calm person now. I listen better; I have more patience. It's like any drug. I was constantly thinking, 'Do I have a pack of cigarettes ? Do I need an ashtray ? Can I smoke here ?'

What are you most grateful for in your life ?
I'm so grateful that I make enough money to not have to work every day. We [Royston and I] have a country house and we go up there quite a lot. I'm grateful that I do what I want to do, that I have time where I get to have some fun. I bought a house in New York. I don't live there yet; it's being worked on. One day, we'll move in there and I can't wait for that to happen.